Sun bear is a forgotten bear species. They are the least known bear and one of the least known large mammals in Southeast Asia until recently. I hope this blog can enlighten readers and open up discussions on how we could help this unfortunate but yet magnificent animal that we call “sun bear".

11/21/11

Yesterday when I walked little Mary in the forest, she stopped at the base of this huge dipterocarp tree. The scene was just amazed me: “big tree, little bear” was what came out from my mind immediately. It was a peaceful time we spent in the forest under the big tree. Mary was busy digging the nests of termite and ant and feeding furiously on the angry insects that swamped out from their broken home. The big tree stood there like a giant with no fear. The sound of the cicadas and other unknown insects rumbled like there is no tomorrow: they have to mate now!

Big tree little bear!

The big tree, the little sun bear, and the tiny termites all need one other to survive. Female sun bears den in the hollowed tree trunk or cavities of huge trees in the forest when they give birth and nurse helpless baby for months. These cavities are the safest den for the female sun bears because they are relatively dry in the ever wet and moist rainforest (rainforest always rain!), relative cold in the hot mid tropical day, and relatively warm at night (tropical rainforest may get cold at night because of the rain and high humidity). There is simply no other better den site that a sun bear can find in the forest then a large tree with cavities or hollowed. The trees are huge, like this one, with a diameter of at least one meter (3 feet) and a height of 30 m (100 feet) or more. They are probably very old – at least few hundred years old too! In return, sun bears are opportunistic omnivores that feed on termites, beetles and other forest insects that kill trees (forest pest, so to speak). By feeding on the termite colonies and other insects, the sun bears act as forest “doctors” that keep these insects at “healthy levels”. The tiny termites, feed on the woody materials in the forest, both alive and dead. And the cycle go on and on..

Here comes a problem for sun bear in the human altered landscape: these forest giants are getting rare in logged forest because they are targeted for timber market and sell for a lot of money. In Borneo, most of the remaining forests are being selectively logged except few totally protected forest reserves that remain as undisturbed primary forests. The lack of large trees with cavity may post a challenge for female sun bears to find suitable den sites and successfully raise cubs.

Big trees little bears and tiny termites, all need one other to survive. Are we wise enough to keep all of them in the forest? For sure the termites will survive. But I am not sure about the sun bears and the big trees. Only time will tell!

Is Mary climbing on a vertical wall?

No, is the buttress of the big tree!

Mary digging out a termite colony in this fallen tree.

Still working hard…

This hollowed tree was being fell by logger but abandoned because of the hollowness and low value. The cavity has become an important den site for sun bear.

Sun bear den in the lowland rainforest of Danum. There is a pile of a sun bear faces at the bottom left of the photo.

I found one of my studied wild sun bear in this cavity of a huge standing tree.

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About Me

Animal lover all my life. Decided to choose working with wildlife and help them as much as I could as my mission in life. Our own kind kills and eats them, destroy their home, and lock them in cages. I am here to help. Help the voiceless as much as I could. I try to influence other people as much as I could. Make others aware of the conservation issues.
On the other hand, I am just like other people. I like food, I like to cook, I like to prepare good and tasty food. Asian food, especially is my favorite: Chinese, Malay, Indian, Thais, are some of my favorite food. I have some secrete recipes, maybe one day I will have my own restaurant when I retire as a conservationist and a wildlife biologist.